Black Box Goes Negative (BBOX)

Black Box Goes Negative

Black Box (Nasdaq: BBOX ) reported earnings on Jan. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q3), Black Box missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue was unchanged, and GAAP earnings per share shrank to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Black Box booked revenue of $275.9 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $283.6 million. Sales were 0.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $276.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.85. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.81 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$16.12 for Q3 against $0.78 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 32.0%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.1%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -102.7%, 10,770 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $275.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.75.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.11 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.00.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 67 members out of 78 rating the stock outperform, and 11 members rating it underperform. Among 23 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 21 give Black Box a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Black Box is outperform, with an average price target of $39.00.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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